By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – The halfway point of the 2024-25 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball season arrives this week, as teams complete the first portion of the double-round robin schedule.
A Saint Martin’s team that received votes in the latest NABC top-25 poll will host a pair of critical matchups at Marcus Pavilion, as first-place Central Washington (12-5, 6-1) and first-place Northwest Nazarene (13-2, 6-1) are both in town this weekend. The Saints begin the week tied for third place at 16-4 overall and 5-2 in league play.
The Alaska Nanooks (9-7, 5-2) are coming off a big win at rival Alaska Anchorage last week and also begin the week in a tie for third in the standings. Alaska will challenge reigning GNAC champion Montana State Billings (11-9, 2-5) on Thursday before facing Seattle Pacific (7-11, 3-4) on Saturday.
| This Week's GNAC Men's Basketball Schedule |
| Home Team |
Thursday, Jan. 23 |
Saturday, Jan. 25 |
| Montana State Billings |
Alaska Fairbanks (5:15 p.m. MT) |
Alaska Anchorage (2 p.m. MT) |
| RV Saint Martin’s |
Central Washington (7:30 p.m. PT) |
RV Northwest Nazarene (5:15 p.m. PT) |
| Seattle Pacific |
Alaska Anchorage (5:15 p.m. PT) |
Alaska Fairbanks (4:15 p.m. PT) |
| Simon Fraser |
BYE |
Western Washington (7:30 p.m. PT) |
| Western Oregon |
RV Northwest Nazarene (7:30 p.m. PT) |
Central Washington (4:15 p.m. PT) |
The 2025 GNAC Men’s and Women's Basketball Championships will be held March 6-8 at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University in
Lacey, Wash. The top six teams in the GNAC standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the GNAC Championships (tiebreakers will be applied as necessary). The top two seeds earn byes to the semifinal round. The quarterfinal round will match the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds in one game and the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in the other game. Quarterfinal winners will advance to Friday's semifinals. Semifinal winners will meet on Saturday for the championship. The winners of the GNAC Championships will automatically qualify for their respective NCAA Division II Championships events.
NIELSEN-SKINNER CONTINUES ASSISTS LIST ASCENT: Saint Martin’s senior point guard
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner enters the week ranked fifth in conference history with 559 career assists. He needs three more assists to pass SPU’s David Downs (2010-14) for No. 4 on the career leaderboard.
| GNAC Career Assists Leaders (as of Jan. 22) |
| Rank |
Player |
Assists |
School |
Career |
| 1 |
Luke Cooper |
800 |
Alaska Anchorage |
2004-08 |
| 2 |
Kevin Tyner |
600 |
Western Oregon |
2002-06 |
| 3 |
Mark White |
594 |
Humboldt State |
2000-04 |
| 4 |
David Downs |
561 |
Seattle Pacific |
2010-14 |
| 5 |
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner |
559 |
Saint Martin's |
2021-25 |
| 6 |
Ryan Webb |
548 |
Seattle |
2003-07 |
| 7 |
Jake Linton |
496 |
Saint Martin's |
2005-09 |
| 8 |
Michael Provenzano |
482 |
Simon Fraser |
2016-20 |
| 9 |
Tony Binetti |
461 |
Seattle Pacific |
2002-06 |
| 10 |
Riley Stockton |
444 |
Seattle Pacific |
2011-15 |
| GNAC In The National & Regional Rankings |
National top-25 rankings are released weekly by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (coach poll) and the D2 College Sports Communicators (media poll). The D2CSC also releases weekly regional top-10 rankings. Additional ranking information, including RPI projections, can be found in real time via
Inkblot Sports online here. The official NCAA regional rankings, which will eventually determine the eight-team field for the 2025 NCAA West Region Championships, will be released towards the end of the season beginning in February, 2025.
| NABC National Top-25 Poll |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
| Preseason (10/30) |
15. CWU |
RV MSUB |
| Week 1 (11/18) |
16. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 2 (11/26) |
17. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 3 (12/3) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 4 (12/10) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 5 (12/17 |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 6 (12/31) |
22. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 7 (1/7) |
18. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 8 (1/14) |
17. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 9 (1/21) |
RV NNU |
RV SMU |
| D2CSC National Top-25 Poll |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
| Week 1 (11/11) |
16. SMU |
RV MSUB |
| Week 2 (11/18) |
12. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 3 (11/25) |
15. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 4 (12/3) |
T25. SMU |
|
| Week 5 (12/10) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 6 (12/17) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 7 (1/7) |
11. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 8 (1/14) |
8. SMU |
|
| Week 9 (1/21) |
RV SMU |
|
| D2CSC West Region Rankings |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
Team 4 |
Team 5 |
| Week 1 (11/4) |
4. CWU |
6. MSUB |
10. SMU |
RV NNU |
RV WWU |
| Week 2 (11/11) |
3. SMU |
4. MSUB |
T6. WWU |
RV CWU |
RV NNU |
| Week 3 (11/18) |
2. SMU |
4. WWU |
6. MSUB |
10. NNU |
|
| Week 4 (11/25) |
3. SMU |
6. WWU |
T7. MSUB |
9. NNU |
|
| Week 5 (12/2) |
4. SMU |
T6. WWU |
8. MSUB |
10. CWU |
RV NNU |
| Week 6 (12/9) |
4. SMU |
6. CWU |
7. MSUB |
9. NNU |
RV WWU |
| Week 7 (12/16) |
T3. SMU |
7. CWU |
8. MSUB |
10. NNU |
RV WWU |
| Week 8 (1/6) |
1. SMU |
T4. NNU |
10. MSUB |
|
|
| Week 9 (1/13) |
1. SMU |
T5. NNU |
10. CWU |
RV MSUB |
|
| Week 10 (1/20) |
4. SMU |
5. NNU |
6. CWU |
|
|
| Date |
Player of the Week |
School |
| 11/4 |
Myles Samuels |
Saint Martin's |
| 11/11 |
Will Wilson |
Western Washington |
| 11/18 |
Louis Grante-Halliday |
Western Washington |
| 11/25 |
Irish Coquia |
Simon Fraser |
| 12/2 |
Garrett Anderson |
Central Washington |
| 12/9 |
Bishop Tosi |
Alaska Anchorage |
| 12/23 |
Kye Dickson |
Northwest Nazarene |
| 1/6 |
Sean Evans |
Alaska Anchorage |
| 1/13 |
Jaxon Nap |
Seattle Pacific |
| 1/20 |
Will Wilson |
Western Washington |
Jan. 20 GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Will Wilson – Western Washington University
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
Wilson put up big numbers in leading the Vikings to a pair of important wins last week, including a 77-75 upset of No. 17 Saint Martin’s last Thursday. Wilson scored 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting, made all eight of his free throws and added four assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals. In the Vikings’ 90-86 win over Western Oregon on Saturday, Wilson scored a season-high 27 points, making a season-high 10 field goals including 4 of 5 threes. Wilson filled out the stat sheet with five rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal, while averaging 33.5 minutes on the floor last week. Among all GNAC players last week, Wilson ranked second in scoring (24.5 ppg) while adding 4.5 assists per game, 1.5 steals per game, shooting 59.3% overall and going 11-for-11 from the foul line. The senior from Lorton, Va., ranks sixth in the conference in scoring at 16.3 points per game this winter.
WWU Head Coach Tony Dominguez: “Will played with a lot of toughness both physically and mentally as he played through a minor injury and really came up big for us. He was focused on both sides of the ball and did a good job of going inside out. He was aggressive in every aspect of the game and he carried himself with great positivity and determination.”
Also Nominated: Tyler Burraston, Alaska Anchorage; Jalai O’Keith, Alaska Fairbanks; Maverick Sanders, Central Washington; Jalen Tot, Montana State Billings; Kye Dickson, Northwest Nazarene; Diego Trejo-Delgado, Saint Martin’s; Jaxon Nap, Seattle Pacific; Luke Howard, Simon Fraser; Jahville Collins, Western Oregon.
| 2024-25 All-Tournament Selections |
D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead
Nov. 1-3 at Billings, Mont. (Montana State Billings, Host)
Alaska Anchorage: Tyler Burraston
MSU Billings: Famous Lefthand; Kael Robinson
D2CCA Canadian Tipoff Classic
Nov. 1-3 at Langley, B.C. (Simon Fraser, Host)
Saint Martin’s: Myles Samuels; Jaden Nielsen-Skinner; Jayshawn Moore
West Region Crossover
Nov. 8-9 at Bellingham, Wash. (Western Washington, Host)
Simon Fraser: Luke Howard
Western Washington: Will Wilson (MVP); Grant Kepley; Trevor White
| 2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team |
| Preseason Player of the Year: Jalen Tot, Montana State Billings |
| Name |
School |
Position |
Height |
Year |
Hometown |
Previous School |
| Dillon Barrientos |
Alaska Anchorage |
Guard |
6-1 |
Senior |
Santa Clarita, CA |
College of the Canyons |
| Bishop Tosi |
Alaska Anchorage |
Forward |
6-6 |
Junior |
Anchorage, AK |
Bellevue College |
| Jordan Clark |
Central Washington |
Guard |
6-2 |
Sophomore |
Renton, WA |
Seattle Christian |
| Maverick Sanders |
Central Washington |
Forward |
6-6 |
Sophomore |
Spokane, WA |
Mt. Spokane |
| Famous Lefthand |
Montana State Billings |
Guard |
6-3 |
Senior |
Crow Agency, MT |
United Tribes Tech. Coll. |
| Jalen Tot |
Montana State Billings |
Guard |
6-0 |
Senior |
Dallas, TX |
Dawson CC |
| Ryzin Bergersen |
Northwest Nazarene |
Guard |
6-4 |
Senior |
Boise, ID |
Borah |
| Aaron Murphy |
Northwest Nazarene |
Forward |
6-7 |
Senior |
Tracy, CA |
Modesto Christian |
| Jaden Nielsen-Skinner |
Saint Martin's |
Guard |
5-10 |
Senior |
Salem, OR |
Portland State |
| Myles Samuels |
Saint Martin's |
Guard |
6-5 |
Junior |
West Palm Beach, FL |
Northeast Oklahoma A&M |
| Owen Moriarty |
Seattle Pacific |
Guard |
6-2 |
Junior |
Seattle, WA |
O'Dea |
| Jaxon Nap |
Seattle Pacific |
Guard |
6-7 |
Junior |
Newcastle, WA |
Montana |
| Jason Gallant |
Western Oregon |
Guard |
6-4 |
Senior |
Simi Valley, CA |
Colorado Christian |
| Tijan Saine |
Western Washington |
Guard |
5-11 |
Sophomore |
Everett, WA |
Mariner |
| Will Wilson |
Western Washington |
Guard |
6-4 |
Senior |
Lorton, VA |
Mt. Hood CC |